Information device



W. C. CUTLER.

INFORMATION DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 16, 1921.

1,381,860. ted June 14,1921.

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UNITE ra en and WILLIAM C. CUTLER, OF NORTH GLENDALE, CALIFORNIA.

INFORMATION DEVICE.

Application filed February 16, 1921.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that l, WILLIAM C. CUTLER, a citizen of the United States, residing at North Glendale, in the county of Les Angeles and State of California, have invented a new and useful Information Device, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to devices for displaying information when so operated, having space and means for normally storing such matter in inoperative positions and other means for moving selected matter from such storing to displaying position.

One of the objects of this invention .is to provide a device with a turning setting handle which can be turned and operated in any direction without stop so as to prevent and avoid an overturning of the operating mechanism.

Another object is to provide all indicating mechanism inside the device and behind glass or similar material.

Another object is to provide setting means for selecting a desired card or table indicated by independent means, so that, in setting the setting and selecting mechanism, the indicating mechanism automatically moves to a certain mark on the device without the operator touching or being able to touch the indicating means.

Another object is to provide a device which will correctly indicate a certain position of stored matter no matter how the setting mechanism is being operated.

Another object is to provide lifting mechanism and means which will move selected card or table upwardly and downwardly moving to certain definite end positions no matter how fast or roughly the outer termination of the lifting mechanism is being operated.

Another object is to provide a turning movement for the setting handle to be transformed into a swinging reciprocating move ment for the stored matter, the turning handle not indicating any position of any of the stored articles.

Another object is to provide a larger and smaller dash-pot one communicating with the other, a short movement of the larger dashpot producing a long movement in the smaller dashpot forming the distance of the movement of the lifting mechanism.

'Other objects will appear from the fol lowing; description appended claims Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented nine 14, 1921.

Serial No. 445,534.

well as from in which- Figure 1 is side elevation of the device with one of the sides of the cabinet taken away.

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the device. 1 F 1g. 3 1s a detail top plan view of the brake drum and brake band of the setting handle of the device.

vig. 4: is a rear-side elevation of the de' tails in Fig. 3.

The cabinet of the device is preferably designed to inclose all working and operating mechanism up to the handle member of the setting and table selecting mechanism, and up to the pedal termination of the table lif ino' mechanism.

The cabinet consists of the rear wall 5, the two side walls 6, the top 7 the front 8, the desk 9, and the glassed upper front 10.

The handle 11 for the setting and tableselecting mechanism is preferably provided in the desk 9 of the cabinet, since an index to the information to be had from the device is preferbly provided on the desk, and therefore makes the handle 11 most convenient in the desk.

The pedal 12 is preferably provided in the lower part of the front wall 8 near one of the sides so as to be conveniently reached by one foot of the operator while standing in front of the cabinet, as illustrated in Fig. 2. Of course, it does not matter if the handle 11 and the pedal are near the left or right hand side of the cabinet, such and other minor changes can easily be made and arranged without departing from the principle of this invention.

The information to be displayed and stored in this device is preferably arranged in tables or cards, that is, printed or otherwise suitably marked and arranged and classified in tables or printed on a cardboard. Such tables or tabled information is preferably suspended in its storing position within the cabinet. WVhen so stored, it must naturally be arranged systematically according to some kind of an index, each table or cardboard to correspond to a similar mark in the index.

Having ascertained the proper indicating mark of desired information in the index in the desk, the handle 11 is then turned and operated until the indicating member 13 comes to point mark in the reg the accompanying drawing,

ister 14, similar to the mark found in the index in the desk, as will be more clearly described hereafter.

The handle 11 is provided on a shaft 15, passing through the desk 9 and carrying on the inside of the cabinet a brake drum16 and a gear 17. The gear 17 is in operative engagement with another gear 18. A connecting rod 19 connects the gear 13 with the lever 20 on the shaft 21. A lever 22 is mounted on the same shaft near each end of the shaft 21. A connecting rod 23 connects each of the levers 22 with one of the operating arms 24 of the segmental table carriers 25. One table-carrier 25 is normally provided near each of the sides 6 of the cabinet for a swinging movement around the point 26, so as to support both ends of the several tables stored between the carriers, the tables being indicated edgewise by the dotted lines 27.

A turning of the shaft 15 by the handle 11 producesaturning of the gears 17 and 18, the upper end of the connecting rod 19 being pivotally engaged with the gear 18, and normally produces a reciprocating movement of the connecting rod 19. The lever 20 is swung up and downwardly thereby turning the shaft 21. The levers 22 are swung back and forth through the turning action of the shaft 21, thereby causing a reciprocating movement of the connecting rods 23 and thereby a swinging movement of the arms 24 and the segmental carriers 25.

It does not matter in which direction the shaft 15 with the handle 11 is turned, it will always produce only a swinging movement of the table carriers 25.

A rack 29 is provided on each of the table carriers 25, and preferably adjustable by slots 30 and bolts 31. The tables 27 are supported by and stored on the racks 29. From such storing position, the tables are lifted one at a time into view or displaying position by the lifting or raising mechanism, to appear behind the glass 10 in the front of the cabinet. V

The operating of the handle 11 and thereby the table carriers tends to bring one of the tables or cards to selective position from which the lifting mechanism can move the selected table'into view position.

' The lifting hooks 33 are provided near the selective position, so that, when the lifting mechanism is being operated, the hooks 33 will bring the selected table into view po-. sition, when so operated.

.The lifting mechanism consists mainly of x the outer termination 12 of the foot pedal or lever 34, the larger dash pot 35, the smaller dash .pot 36, and the lifting hooks 33.

The spring 37 is preferably inserted to connect the lever 34 with. the lever 38, to operate the piston rod 39 of the dash pot 35 by the movements of the foot pedal. Any

liquid or other similar suitable medium disposed in the dash-pot 35 tends to pass into the communicating dash-pot 36 so as to operate the piston of the dash pot 36 by the operation of the piston of the dash pot 35, as will easily be understood without going into the details of such dash pets. The piston or plunger rod 40 of the dash pot 36 is connected with the lifting hooks 33, and, thereby, an operation of the dash pot 35 produces and causes an operation of the lifting hooks 33. The dash pot 35 being of larger diameter than the dash pct 36, a short movement of the dash pot 35 results in a longer movement of the dash pot 36 and thereby the lifting hooks 33, so that the foot pedal is only to be moved a short distance to cause a raising of a table from theselective position to view position.

Any of the stored tables on the carriers can be moved to selective position near the lifting hooks.

To ascertain which one of the several stored tables is in selective position, an indicating member 13 is provided in aposition to appear behind the glass front 10. In Fig. 1, this indicating member 13 is illustrated as being connected to the table carriers by the connecting rod 41, but it will easily be understood that many other cone necting means can be provided as long as the proper indicating relation of the indicating member 13 with the stored tables or cards can be maintained and had, as by gears, and flexible means and pulleys, with out departing from the principle of this invention. i

A. connecting rod 42 connects the foot pedal with the braking mechanism of the setting mechanism. The lever 43 connects the rod ,42 with the brake band 44, so that, by a stepping on the foot pedal, the brake band 44 is clamped around the drum 16 on the shaft 15 of the setting mechanism. See Figs. 1, 3 and 4.

Having thus described my invention, I claim: 7

1. In an information device, a series of tables, a handle, a table carriage, means operative by the handle to move the carriage so as to bring one of the tables on the carriage to a selective position, means operating to move the selected table into view position away from the other tables, and means inside of the cabinet in view behind the glass front actuated by the movements of said handle to indicate which one of the tables is in selective position.

2. In an information device, a cabinet having a glassed-in opening in a portion of its front, a. series of tables, a handle, a table carriage, means opera-tive by the handle to move the carriage so as to bring one of the tables on the carriage to a selective position, means operating to move the selected table into View position away from the other tables, and means to indicate on the glassedin front portion which one of the tables is in selective position.

In an information device, a series of tables, a handle, a table carriage, means operative by the handle to move the carriage so as to bring one of the tables on the carriage to a selective position a foot pedal, and a dashpot arrangement having one portion of larger diameter connected to the foot pedal. and having another portion or' smaller diameter communicating with the larger portion to produce a long movement for bringing the selected table into view position by a short movement of the foot pedal.

4. In an information device, a table selecting mechanism including a turning shaft having a handle on the outside of the device, a table carriage, and a gear having a crank pin to transform the unlimited turning movement of the selecting mechanism into a positive and limited reciprocating and swinging movement on the table carriage.

In an information device, a series of tables, a handle, a table carriage having adjustable table-engaging and holding means, means operative by the handle to move the carriage so as to bring one of the tables on the carriage to a selective position means operating to move the selected table into view position away from the other tables, and indicating means operative by the movements of the said table carriage.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention I have signed my name in the presence of two subscribing Witnesses.

WVILLIAM C. CUTLER.

Witnesses:

OTTO H. KRUEGER, Jnssni A. MANooK. 

